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This combination of pictures shows self-styled Libyan National Army's chief Khalifa Haftar (L) on Aug. 24, 2015 and Libya's U.N.-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on April 7, 2017.Khalil MazraawiAFP/Getty Images

(LA CELLE SAINT-CLOUD, France) Two rival Libyan leaders committed themselves on Tuesday to a cease-fire, working toward presidential and parliamentary elections and finding a roadmap to secure lawless Libya against terrorism and trafficking of all kinds, according to a document released by the French presidency.

The meetings at a chateau in La Celle Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, brought together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the U.N.-backed unity government, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptian-backed commander of Libya's self-styled national army.

Emmanuel Macron met separately with each ahead of an encounter between the two Libyans in the presence of U.N.'s newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.

"There is political legitimacy in the hands of Mr. Serraj. There is military legitimacy is in the hands of Mr. Hifter. They have decided to work together," Macron said after the series of encounters.

The 10-point joint declaration that capped the talks was the first of its kind between the rivals.

Among the points agreed upon was a commitment to a cease-fire with armed force reserved "strictly" for use in counter-terrorism operations.

The rivals also "solemnly commit to work toward the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible."

The French president said later that the goal is for balloting in the spring. Serraj had said in May that elections would be held in spring. The date may seem premature in a country that has spiraled into chaos since the 2011 toppling and killing of leader Moammar Gadhafi. But French diplomats had said before the meeting that they would support such an initiative.

"The stakes of this reconciliation are enormous. Enormous for the Libyan people, who have been suffering, living with instability and terrorist threats these past years, and it is considerable for the whole region," Macron said after the talks. "If Libya fails," he said, "the whole region fails with it."

The stakes are high for Europe, too, as hundreds of thousands of migrants using Libya as a springboard reach its shores, mainly in Italy, and as Islamic extremists sheltering and multiplying in Libya cross to other North African states, most former French colonies.

The encounter was never expected to resolve the knotty problems of Libya, politically fractured and awash in militias and weapons and human traffickers preying on migrants who use the Libyan coast as a jumping off point to Europe, mainly Italy. But the joint declaration is to serve as a basis for further work by the U.N. envoy.

Macron, elected in May, was at ease in his role as peacemaker. He has made known that working toward laying the groundwork for a Libya with a functioning government and institutions is a priority of his presidency.

Appearing at a news conference, the three men shook hands and the two Libyan rivals bear-hugged Macron before exchanging timid kisses on the cheek. Neither Serraj nor Hifter spoke to the press.

"The courage that is yours today by being here and by agreeing to this joint declaration is historic," Macron said.

France, minding its diplomatic manners, has made clear that Macron's initiative is part of a larger process guided by the U.N. and does not negate work by the European Union, the African Union and individual countries working to find a path leading to a stable Libya under civilian rule.

The 10 points of the final declaration paint a picture of a Libya with a democratically elected government and a regular army and where human rights are respected and militias are banned.

The first point states that the solution to the Libyan crisis "can only be political" with a national reconciliation process that includes "all Libyans."

The two leaders called for disarmament and demobilization of fighters who don't want to integrate the regular armed forces so they can be reintegrated into civilian life.

This was not the first meeting between Serraj and Hifter. They last met in early May in Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates said later there had been a "significant breakthrough." However, no joint declaration followed.

Read more from the original source:
Libyan Rivals Agree to a Cease-Fire and Elections After Talks in France - TIME

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's coastguard rescued an estimated 278 migrants including women and children on Monday off the shores of two different towns west of the capital Tripoli, a spokesman said.

Thecoastal towns to the west of Tripoli - Zawiya, Sabratha, and Zuwarah - are common departure points for migrantstrying toreachEurope, often sent out by smugglers in flimsy vessels.

The coastguard near Zawiya refinery rescued 128 people about 23 km (14 miles) off the coast and another 150 were rescued off Sabratha, the spokesman of Libyan naval forces Ayoub Qaseed told Reuters.

The migrants were mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, though there was also one from Bangladesh and two from Egypt.

Thousands of migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea use the central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy. The vast majority of migrants set off from the coastal towns ofwestern Libya.

Italy and the European Union are trying to work with Libyan authorities to fight smugglers, but the current chaos in Libya has allowed armed groups and criminal gangs to flourish and is hampering efforts to combat trafficking.

Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; editing by Patrick Markey and Gareth Jones

More here:
Libya coastguard rescues nearly 300 migrants off the coast: official - Reuters

Rome - Rescuers coming to the aid of a dinghy packed with migrants off the coast of Libya said on Tuesday they had discovered 13 bodies including those of pregnant women.

"Thirteen corpses in total. People who had names, surnames, mothers, fathers, friends, and lives," said Proactiva Open Arms, a Spanish NGO involved in rescues in the Mediterranean, on Twitter.

"We have found 167 people drifting," it said earlier noting that "several pregnant women and mothers" were among an initial toll of 11 dead and that their relatives were on board.

A Save The Children ship on Tuesday rescued some 70 migrants who were also attempting to cross in a small boat.

The Italian coastguard confirmed the deaths and said worsening weather conditions at sea were likely to dissuade traffickers for now from setting more boats full of people to sail in the Mediterranean.

Close to 94 000 people have been brought to safety in Italy so far this year, according to Italy's interior ministry, an increase of over five percent compared to the same period last year.

More than 2 370 people have died since January attempting the perilous crossing, the UN refugee agency said.

The fresh deaths came as Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti was due to meet with NGOs to discuss a new "code of conduct" to regulate the operations of privately run rescue boats.

The 12-point code, which has been given the green-light by Brussels, would ban aid vessels from entering Libyan territorial waters and oblige them to accept anti-trafficking police officers on board.

While some of the NGOs operating in the Mediterranean have agreed to sign the code, others have insisted doing so would put the lives of vulnerable migrants at sea in flimsy vessels at risk.

Minniti has insisted that those who do not sign the document will not be allowed to dock at Italian ports.

Although Italy has repeatedly stressed that it will continue to save lives at sea, Rome has upped its requests for fellow European states to help shoulder the load - particularly in terms of providing shelter to those rescued.

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Rescuers find 13 bodies in crowded migrant dinghy off Libya - News24

A surge in Libyan oil exports production has increased sharply in the past few months, jumping to four-year highs of over 1 million b/d this month is seeing more and more oil tankers travel to and from the North African countrys key oil terminals, increasing tanker activity and pushing up freight rates in the Mediterranean. So far, so good for shipowners.

But as more tankers call at Libyan ports, something which they were happy to avoid altogether less than a year ago, they can find themselves being drawn into the role of unlikely and possibly begrudging humanitarians.

Increasingly they are receiving calls to assist unseaworthy vessels carrying migrants heading for Europe, shipping sources say.

Under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) which was first introduced after the sinking of the Titanic all vessels have a legal obligation to respond to other vessels in distress.

It is a somewhat incongruous image, an oil tanker teeming with rescued migrants, but it captures two of the big contemporary issues in the world our reliance on oil and energy in general, and the profound economic struggles faced by some in this uncertain world that would force them to undertake such a dangerous journey.

The issue of migrants is becoming a real talking point among shipowners, who argue that picking up in-distress migrants is both time-consuming and a potentially serious security risk: the number of people picked up could easily outnumber the crew and they may even be armed. There havent been any problems to date, but it is an obvious concern.

War-torn Libya has over recent years become the key route for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, serving as a portal to Europe.

This is not new, but with the rise in oil flows out of Libya, there are more tankers in the Libyan waters which has also coincided with even more migrants making their way through the desert terrain of northern Africa to sail from Libya, with the ongoing civil unrest and political instability in the country making it a fertile area for human smugglers and traffickers.

So far this year 93,213 people have arrived in Italy by sea, with a good majority of them on oil tankers, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Estimates put the number of people from outside Libya currently in the country and trying to get to Europe at around 300,000.

European and African ministers were meeting in Tunis this week to discuss a plan to limit the flow of migrants to Europe to about 20,000, coupled with a much tougher strategy to deport illegal migrants from Italy and break up smuggling rings.

Much rests on whether or not they can come up with workable solutions. The pressure is becoming ever greater, especially with the Balkan route for migrants having recently been closed by central European countries, forcing more to take to the sea and cross through Libya.

In the face of this Italian government is seriously discussing preventing aid vessels from dropping migrants from Libyan waters to Italian ports, tankers that make rescues could be left in limbo if they cannot disembark the refugees they rescue from the sea at Italian ports.

This is an issue that European shipping markets will definitely be following closely as the role of tankers as unlikely aid vessels continues.

Continued here:
Unlikely humanitarians shippers returning to Libya face a tough moral dilemma - Platts (blog)

The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, wished to contribute to resolving the Libyan crisis by inviting to La Celle Saint-Cloud on 25 July 2017 the Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Al Sarraj, and the commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar.

This initiative fully supports the role of the new Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ghassan Salam, who took part in the discussions on 25 July. Frances aim is to contribute to drawing up a political solution and helping the Libyans strengthen the Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement to make it more effective and inclusive.

The meeting in La Celle Saint-Cloud follows on from the meetings already held at various levels in Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Algeria, taking up their consensual elements. It aims to foster sustained and inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue in which all actors in good faith have a role to play.

In this context, the following declaration was adopted by the Libyan parties present:

We, Fayez Al Sarraj, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, and Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, met in La Celle Saint-Cloud on 25 July 2017 at the invitation of the President of the French Republic and in the presence of Ghassan Salam, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Libya, in order to advance the cause of national reconciliation, and have agreed as follows:

1. The solution to the Libya crisis can only be a political one and requires a national reconciliation process involving all Libyans, including the institutional, security and military actors who are prepared to participate peacefully, with the safe return of displaced persons and refugees and the creation of a transitional justice, reparation and national amnesty process as well as the implementation of Article 34 on security arrangements of the Libyan Political Agreement.

2. We commit to a ceasefire and to refrain from any use of armed force for any purpose that does not strictly constitute counter-terrorism, in compliance with the Libyan Political Agreement and international treaties, and in order to protect Libyas territory and sovereignty and we strongly condemn all that threatens the stability of the territory.

3. We are committed to building the rule of law in a sovereign, civilian and democratic Libya that ensures the separation and peaceful transfer of powers and respect for human rights, and that has unified national institutions, such as the Central Bank of Libya, the National Oil Corporation and the Libyan Investment Authority. It should guarantee the safety of citizens, the integrity of the territory and the sovereignty of the State and the proper management of natural and financial resources in the interest of all Libyans.

4. We are determined, supported by the impartial work of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, to make effective the Libyan Political Agreement of 17 December 2015 and to continue political dialogue building on the Abu Dhabi meeting of 3 May 2017.

5. We will make all efforts to support the consultations and work of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, which need to be the subject of inclusive political dialogue in which the House of Representatives and the High Council of State will play their full role.

6. We will continue our dialogue beyond La Celle Saint-Cloud meeting, pursuant to this declaration, and we commit to create conditions that are conducive to the work of the House of Representatives, the High Council of State and the High National Election Commission for the preparation of the upcoming elections.

7. We will make all efforts to integrate fighters who so wish into the regular forces and call for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the others into civilian life. The Libyan army will be made up of lawful military forces ensuring the defence of the Libyan territory in compliance with Article 33 of the Libyan Political Agreement.

8. We have decided to work on establishing a roadmap for the security and defence of the Libyan territory against threats and trafficking of all types. We will work so that all security and military forces present adhere to this plan in the framework of the reunification of the military and security institutions in order to coordinate in the fight against terrorism, control migration flows through the Libyan territory, secure and control borders, and combat organized criminal networks that instrumentalize Libya and destabilize the Central Mediterranean.

9. We solemnly commit to work towards the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible as from 25 July in cooperation with the relevant institutions and with the support and under the supervision of the United Nations.

10. We ask the United Nations Security Council to support the guidelines of this declaration, and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to engage in the necessary consultations with the different Libyan actors.

Original post:
Libya - Joint Declaration (Paris, 25 July 2017) - France Diplomatie (press release)